Maloney v. Rath

Ramona Rath's (defendant) brakes failed and her car collided with Kathleen Maloney's (plaintiff) stopped car; Rath's brakes had been overhauled by a mechanic about three months earlier, and the same mechanic inspected her car again after an unrelated collision two weeks before this accident without repairing the brakes at that time, with Rath having no knowledge or reason to know her brakes were defective. At trial, Rath's own expert testified the brake failure resulted from the mechanic's faulty hose installation during the overhaul; the jury found for Rath, the trial court denied Maloney's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict on liability, and Maloney appealed.